Target Sighted: Locked On
by Kiinari
Summary: In the world where dangerous criminals roam freely...bounty hunters either catch them or kill them to earn their keep. No one knows what is certain anymore... Subtle pairing hints.
1. Prolouge

**A must to read this author's note.**

**Ok. A warning to all before you read.**  
This is a perfectly **alternate universe**. Yes. It means that **any** relationship whatsoever may be cut off. **Totally**. Also, there is **no** tennis. Nothing related to it at all. If you think you can't stand it, please do not read and end up flaming. Disclaimers at profile.  
If you are fine with the above mentioned. Enjoy. :)  
Read and Review.  
Thanks.

Luna Eternal

Beta-reader: -GrandFanfic-  
Type: Alternate Universe  
Rated: T (For crude language and such.)

* * *

Prologue

"Yes, what is it?"

"You got a call from Osakada again, Ryuzaki."

"Eto…Put her on the line," Sakuno yawned. She rubbed her forehead and leaned against the back of her seat rocking herself back and forth. She had just gotten back from her latest mission not too long ago. Her muscles ached from being stressed out once again when she had gone to catch her latest target. Her victim was idiotic enough to try to fight against her without a weapon. The only problem was to bring him back to jail.

"Tomo-chan, what you got there?"

"Ne, Sakuno-chan! Listen up! You will be interested in this offer. I will fax it over."

She took up the paper from the fax machine looked at it.

"Whoa! You gotta be kidding me! This guy is worth for seventy-five hundred thousand?! You sure about this Tomo-chan?! Where is he at?"

"Positive! He's at France, Paris. Oh look! He's so cute!"

Sakuno rolled her eyes wearily. Tomoka was always like that, being all so star struck about guys. She flipped to the next page to see which unlucky guy that had caught her eye again. After all, it wasn't the first time. She was stunned at the picture for a moment.

"So what do you think? He looks so cool and hot right? Ne, Sakuno-chan."

"Eh…he's ok…I suppose…"

"Look, you are blushing now. Besides, you never stuttered before. Spit it out. You like him right?"

"No I don't."

"You can lie to me but you can't lie to yourself. Anyway, you are not supposed to get attached to anyone. You know that right?"

"Yes, yes. I'm going to sleep now." Sakuno hanged up the video call. She set the aircraft on autopilot to Paris before yawning and stretching herself like a feline would and trudging tiredly to her room. Even though she was lying on her bed trying to sleep, thoughts filled up her head, making it almost impossible to sleep. Even after when she tried clearing those unwanted thoughts from her head, it still was impossible for her to get any sleep. Sakuno sighed. It was her insomnia kicking in again. She got up and went into the kitchen to take her medication before dragging herself back to the bed.

The next morning the aircraft had already landed in Paris. She rubbed and blinked open her eyes. It was already afternoon. She checked her clock again and rushed into the bathroom to do up her daily rituals before checking the faxed papers again.

Name: Echizen Ryoma  
Class Type: X  
Remarks: A very dangerous X type criminal on the loose. Many failed to catch this elusive thief. He will kill when have to. Goes to Roxanne Burien café in Paris frequently. Reasons being unknown. Other facts about him are also unknown.  
Reward: Seventy-five hundred thousand dollars  
Appearance: His most distinctive traits are his emerald-color hair and golden cat eyes. –Inserts Picture Here-

Sakuno widen her eyes as she re-read the text again. She dialled up Tomoka's cell phone number.

"Tomo-chan! Why do you have to select an X-class criminal for me to hunt down?!"

"E…eh? Oh…it's Sakuno-chan. You handed many A-class criminals before right? What's there to worry about? You are going to die of anxiety overload on day. I'm so tired…its morning here you know. Call you back later."

"But X-class criminals are murderer types-"Sakuno stared at the phone. Tomoka had hung up.

"And to think she told me she is scared of X-class criminals at the academy."

_---Flashback---_

_"Ne, Tomo-chan, what do you want to be after you graduate from the academy?"_

_"I want be…a Bounty Hunter!"_

_"Eh? But it is a very dangerous job."_

_"Their pay is very high! And on the other hand, many guys will be attracted to you!"_

_"But you may get killed!"_

_"Eh…I will just hunt for D or C class criminals and I will be fine."_

_"D or C class criminals?"_

_"D-class criminals are those drug abusers and minor thieves that haven't been caught yet. C-class criminals are those who do drunken driving etc. or drug dealers. B-class criminals are those thieves who stole rare artefacts, treasure etc., those who harm people on purpose but did not kill anyone or people who are known to do illegal slave trades. A-class criminals are those who killed people either by accident or on purpose and terrorist bombers. Last but not least, we have the X-class criminals. The number of X-class criminals is very few but they are exceptionally skilled and avoided being caught countless of times already. They have even crossed the criminal boundaries and had evaded death time and time again. It is rumoured that they are merciless. They are wanted dead or alive. I wouldn't want to meet one. It sounds like meeting the devil itself."_

_---End of Flashback---_

"And now she wants to send me to the 'devil itself'."Sakuno muttered. "Great."

She put on her disguise and climbed down from the aircraft. Giving it one last glance to see it was securely docked, she walked to Roxanne Burien café to get a quick lunch and to wait for her intended target. "Roxanne Burien café…hmm…"

She ordered a sandwich at the café and ate it up quickly, her eyes scanning the area for the criminal through her dark sunglasses. So far he wasn't there. She pretended to take out her newspaper and read while actually secretly looking around the café every now and then. Finally she caught sight of him. "Target sighted." She muttered.

She folded her newspapers carefully and tailed him quietly. He talked to the bartender for a while before handing over a package and exiting the cafe in fashion. He turned around to a bend to reveal a cramp and dark alley way which even she did not notice when she arrived at the place. She turned around the bend and lost sight of him. He must have climbed or scaled the walls she assumed. She looked up to find out no one was there. Suddenly someone pounced on her. She widened her eyes and before she could defend herself the person grabbed her wrist and held them behind her back. He also took the initiative to cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming, rendering her helpless.

"I bet you are just another lousy bounty hunter."

She felt herself grow angry at the insult. Fortunately for her, her legs were free. She stomped hard on her captor's feet with her hard, jagged stiletto boots and freed herself. Her captor immediately withdraws away from her sudden attack. Even though it was dark she could still see the pain reflected in her captor's eyes. She rejoiced slightly at the fact but it wasn't over yet. 

"Amateur-like defence system you got there, mada mada dane."

He threw a smoke bomb onto the ground and fled from the scene. She took her laser gun out and tried to aim him through the smoke but in order not to harm any innocent civilians she ended up not firing her gun. When the smoke cleared, he was nowhere to be found which is as expected. She sighed. She was so close to completing the mission. However the earlier scene might have led him to think she was waiting for him at the café and would most probably not return there for at least a few days.

_- - - - -_

"Hey Echizen, how come you are back so early? I thought you would normally go stealing wallets and such."

"Urusai."

"A cat got your tongue nya?"

"You're bleeding!"

He blinked and looked at his boots and saw it was punctured with a few holes and blood was leaking slowly out of it. He dragged a wooden chair and sat on it. He took out his boots and realized his socks were soaked in his blood. I suppose now I know where the pain came from he mused to himself.

"Holy shit! That's a lot of blood you lost Echizen! What did you do?" commented Momoshiro.

"Che, lousy shoe brand."

He threw his boots aside to a corner and limped to the place where they kept their emergency kit. He also made a mental note to 'visit' another shoe shop the very night.

_- - - - -_

"And you failed to catch him? Don't need to worry so much. He is not put into the category X class for nothing right?"

"Demo Tomo-chan, I was so close! So close!"

"Now to put that aside, so is he as hot as the picture shown? Any disfigurements whatsoever?"

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno slammed down the phone receiver in irritation, anger and exasperation. She felt it was ridiculous to have a person asked her about how hot a person was when she was just about to be killed beforehand. Sure Tomoka was her best friend but some sometimes she is just too much of a dork head. She knew she would regret it later when she slammed down the phone but right now she was too mentally exhausted to care. She sent an e-mail to Tomoka saying she would have to stay in Paris a little longer to catch the criminal before heading to the showers.

The following week and the next her target was nowhere to be seen nor found near or at the café. There were a few reported cases about precious items and artefacts being stolen in other countries but she couldn't be certain that Echizen was there as the identity of the thief was not known. She was about to give up on finding the elusive thief when she finally caught a glimpse of him walking away from the café at the late hours of the night. She threw on her disguise and set out to follow him again, hopefully being able to catch him this time round.


	2. Chapter 1: The thief named Echizen Ryoma

Chapter 1: The thief named Echizen Ryoma

"Echizen, you are fully aware that the fact someone is tailing you is 100 correct. I'm I right?"

"Yes Inui-sempai. Besides, how is life interesting without a game of cat and mouse? And to top it off, I'm not the mouse. She is."Echizen muttered into the microphone bit. He smirked. It was going to be fun misleading her. The last one gave up too quickly and the police are getting pretty repetitive and boring. There was no thrill trying to fool them anymore as the always fall for the same trick even it was in different variations. He was nearly bored to death and nearly resorted to provoking the police with fake threatening letters. Luckily Eiji, Momoshiro, Kaidoh and Fuji's weird antics kept him entertained for quite a while.

"Echizen, always be on your guard."

"Hai, Tezuka-buchou."

"Echizen, you are planning something aren't you."

"Fuji-sempai, don't you always do something like this?"

"Maa…I suppose no harm is done."

"Echizen, don't get too carried away! If you can't handle it try escaping or alert us!"

"I'm not that weak."

"Don't get too proud! Arrogance gets you nowhere-……Echizen? "

Echizen resisted the urge to roll his eyes and unplugged his earphones so he could concentrate on the present situation. They should know that he wasn't easily distracted from just talking alone from the past experience. He is rather capable of tuning out crappy information and he would have to do that soon if they don't stop.

He went into many clubs, cafés, and shops, talked to many bartenders, waiters and waitresses. Walking through many twist and turns along the way hoping to get her lost and so she would not be able to find her ship when she decided to give up. The plan was very simple. To confuse, tire her out and finally disappear altogether, leading her into a wild goose chase. No doubt she would try to talk to the bartenders, waiters or waitresses about what he might say to them yet all they would know was that he was just passing by and wanted to say hi.

The cheese was placed. The trap is set. Let the games begin.

- - - - -

"I wonder where he's heading to at the dead of the night." Ryuzaki mumbled to herself. The air was chilly in Paris at the late hours of the night and she had oh-so forgotten about bring a jacket along. She shivered, wrapping her arms around her petite body trying to warm up herself. She found herself walking into many cafés and such so it wasn't as bad as it was thought to be for it was warm inside.

She stared at her target, not wanting to lose sight of him again. While doing so she noticed he stopped to chat with the bartenders or waiters every now and then. She was tempted to ask one of the people he talked to but it would immediately look suspicious. After all she can't just walk casually towards one of them saying, "Hey, what you and that guy from just now are talking about?" Not only that, she did not want to lose her target again. And from the way they twist and turn about, she knew she was sure to forget and lose track from where she had came from sooner or later.

She switched her PDA on and drew an 'X' on the electronic map, where her aircraft was parked at with the mouse pen and sent an e-mail imbedded with a online tracking device to her aircraft so she would know where was her ship even though if she somehow got lost, which was quite common when one forgot to take note of such things.

- - - - -

Echizen weaved through the crowd avoiding as much eye contact as he was able to. He glanced back and saw the girl trailing him not too far behind. He smirked. It was evident that she did not know she was falling into his trap. There are still many stops to be made. Now if only he could think of a way to stop the other girls from the clubs to stop flirting with him when he entered the clubs as it was highly annoying. However it perfected the plan as he could use that as a cover-up or a ready-made excuse. It was going to be a rather long night.

"Hey, can you hear female voices?"

"O'chibi! I didn't know you were so attracted to the opposite sex nya!"

"So young, so young."

"You two do realize he isn't listening right?"

"…"

- - - - -

"This is ridiculous."Ryuzaki muttered to herself. She had been into so many places and it looks as though he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. How many people is he in contact with? Who are the people is he in contact with? What business do these people have with him? Many thought swirled in her mind as she felt herself being slowly drifting away from her main objective. She placed her wonderings aside and focused on her intended target.

"Is he trying to distract me by flirting with girls? If so, I will not fall into that cheap trick." She mumbled and made a little mental note in her mind.

- - - - -

Just one last stop Echizen thought. He went into the club, chatted with the bartender there and exited the place. "Time to return to the base." He muttered.

"Echizen-san, stop right there. What were you doing?"Ryuzaki could control her curiosity no longer and decided to ask.

"Since when do stalkers ask the person they are following these kind of questions?"

"Eh…erm…eto… Wait! Stop trying to change the topic and answer me!"

"What makes you think that I'm going to reply?" he smirked.

"Well, I intend to make you answer, Echizen-san."

She sent a flying kick aiming to his face but he skillfully blocked it with his arms. He then bend his knees and kicked her in shins sideways with his right leg while his left arm and leg supporting his full weight, trying to make her lose her balance, in which it did and she fell flat on to the ground. He got up with a somersault and looked at her with an almost bored-like expression. She grabbed the gun from her thighs and tried to aim at his limbs but unfortunately for her, he shot the gun away from her with his own. She glared up at him angrily.

"I told you that you are mada mada dane." he threw a smoke bomb on the ground, intending to disappear from her sight once again.

Like I'm going to let you do that again Ryuzaki thought. She took out a little bug from her side pocket and managed to throw it at him before he vanished from her sight. Now, the only thing to do was to track him down. She looked at her PDA which showed two blinking lights. One red light that seemed to be stationary and the other which was blue is moving rapidly away from the scene itself. She decided to wait for her ship to arrive at the place she was by sending it an auto command.

Her ship arrived minutes later and she swiftly climbed on board her ship and hopped on to her chair. She swung her chair around facing the computer screen and typed several commands quickly into the computer. She inserted her PDA into the machine slot and set the autopilot to follow wherever the blinking blue dot is moving to; much like a tracking device. She dialed Tomoka's phone number.

"Hello?"

"Sakuno? You got him? Come on, don't keep it in suspense and tell me quick!"

"No…not yet but I placed a bug on him."

"Whoa! You're proceeding that fast already?"

"Eh? No, not yet. I'm following him with my ship."

The blinking light eventually stopped at a secluded spot which no one would often bother to go.

"Hey, the light stopped!"

"Eh? Really?! Good luck then! Contact me when you got him!"

"Ok Tomo-chan, ja."

Sakuno smiled. I've found you…Echizen Ryoma.

* * *

Chapter 1 is out. Zzz...only 1 review so far. XD  
Anyone want to suggest any pairings? I'm currently leaning on RyoSaku but I wanna try a new one. I don't know seriously but I doubt I will do a KiriSaku or TezSaku. Maybe a FujiSaku? I don't know about yaoi though. .  
Review ne? Arigato. :3

Luna Eternal


	3. Chapter 2: The Discovery

Chapter 2: The Discovery

It had been an hour since Ryuzaki's ship had been hovering above the same spot. The place was barren and there were only a few trees around the place. There was no sign of human activities and the place could have been mistaken for a badly taken care field, where wild weeds are abundant in groups. Ryuzaki was thoroughly stumped for the past hour. After much thought and hesitation, she decided to alight from her aircraft and examine the area on foot.

Yet, it was no better than sitting on the aircraft searching for it. The only difference was that she was doing the investigation on foot now. She could walk directly at the spot where Echizen was supposed be, using her PDA as her guide, but neither he himself nor is the micro chip that was on him was to be found anywhere. She decided to give the place a thorough search before leaving the place.

- - - - -

"Yo, Echizen! You're back! What took you so long again?"

"Some things to take care of."

"What things nya?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Momo, O'chibi is being evil."

"Echizen, did you hear any useful data while toying around with her?"

"Not much, maybe about a few new paintings that had been transferred to the Louvre museum and that's about it."

"I see."Inui started typing furiously on his laptop. For a period of time, only typing and machinery sounds were heard and everyone was too busy with his own things to speak. Kaidoh wasn't in as he was training as usual, Momoshiro was off repairing machines, Eiji was doing target practice, Takashi was preparing a meal, Inui was researching the net for more statistics, Oishi was packing for the next break in, Tezuka was reading newspapers, Echizen was thinking about more fighting techniques and moves while Fuji was looking at him strangely or his left sleeve to be more precise.

"Say Echizen, what's that on your left sleeve?"

"Huh?"

Fuji walked towards him and plucked off what it seemed to be an ant-like insect and crushed it.

"Saa…I think that was the latest tracking device that was just sold just recently."

- - - - -

The blue blinking light abruptly ceased to blink on Ryuzaki's PDA. She looked at it and got more confused. Maybe the signal gotten jumbled up? She restarted her PDA. It did not work. Unless…he found out about the bug. Well that was to be expected. And now she was back to where she started from. Brilliant, just insanely wonderful. And to think she spent so much time on trying to track him down and the result was nothing. Nothing.

"Argh! To think I wasted so much time on nothing." She kicked a nearby stone and it fell into a hole in the ground. She stared at it. Now there was nothing to vent her anger on. The stupid stone rolled underground. Wait…underground?

"That's it!" she exclaimed."The bug is most likely sensing what's underground! It might also have disconnected too."

- - - - -

"Man Echizen, I can't believe you are so careless to let yourself to be tracked down."

He twitched at the comment but stayed quiet.

"Maybe he wanted to be tracked down nya!"

A vein popped out.

"Heh, I didn't know he fancied the girl."

"I'm going to my room. Stay away." he shot a murderous glare at the both of them, a dangerous aura surrounded him. Momoshiro and Eiji cringed. They decided to stay away from him a while and let him cool off some steam. They might have gone overboard this time.

"I think he did not know about the device ne Eiji?"

- - - - -

"I wonder where the entrance is."

She prodded at the trees and inspected the area for any hidden trapdoors or button but so far without much luck. She decided to call Tomoka who hopefully would be able to give her some answers.

"Ne, Tomo-chan. You there?"

"Hai? Sakuno-chan? You caught him?"

"No…but do you know anything about secret underground bases?"

"Eh? Why did you ask?"

"Can you search it up for me?"

"Ok. I will contact you when I find out anything information about it."

She then went back to the ship to rest for a while and to get some food at the same time.

- - - - -

"I bet Echizen is still fuming, that brat seriously has some temper issues."

"Nya? You think so? I think he already calmed down."

"I bet 10 dollars he's still angry."Momoshiro said.

"I bet 20 dollars he has calmed down." Eiji responded cheerfully.

"I bet 30 dollars he is taking a nap." Inui muttered.

Both of them jump back in shock from the sudden intrusion of Inui.

"Don't scare me like that! My life span has been shortened by ten years!"

They sneaked into Echizen's room to see what he was doing and to find out who won. He was lying on the bed asleep curled up with his cat, Karupin. At his bedside was a ponta can. The trio sweat dropped. He was just throwing a tantrum just a few minutes ago.

"Wa O'chibi, why did you sleep? Now I lose 20 bucks nya."

- - - - -

"Sakuno-chan? It says here those underground bases are pretty common. You should know that by now. But everyone have different ways of protecting their base. The foremost used idea is the security code door. Another would be to put a switch somewhere and disguise it as part of the scenery. "

"Ok, thank you Tomo-chan."

She got off her ship and tried to find if anything was out-of-ordinary but she didn't have such luck. She then remembered that they might have disguised it as part of the scenery.

"Mou! This is going to take me a long time."

- - - - -

Inui tried to hack into the main computer of the museum after hearing the news. They were going to have to steal something again before they run out of cash for survival again. "Louvre museum…there are several new art pieces being imported to there…" He entered the site and hacked into the site, on to realize that he needed another password to enter the main system.

"This is going to take a while."

- - - - -

Ryuzaki sighed and slumped down on to one of the rocks to rest. She felt the ground moving and felt scared. It might be an earthquake…was what she thought before the ground opened and swallowed her up. She felt herself falling and panicked, waving her arms everywhere in an effort to fly. But course human beings weren't meant to fly or it would be defying the laws of gravity and she landed on the hard ground with a bump. The eyes slowly adjusted to her surroundings.

"Eh? What happen?"

"Someone may have stumbled upon our hideout."

"Let's go check out nya!"

"Uh oh…" Ryuzaki felt a sense of unwanted dread grow within her. What were they going to do with her when they found out whom had infrared their base?

* * *

_I will probably be retiring from fanfiction for a while to refresh ideas after posting this chapter up. Sorry for not posting this chapter up. My tests just ended. Whew. XD. Review?_


	4. Chapter 3: Captured!

Chapter 3: Captured!

When her vision finally cleared, she looked up to see several unknown faces. 'Shit.'

"Eh? Who is she?"

"Maa…An intruder. Who would have known ne?"

"A girl?!"

"I didn't expect her to actually stumble over here and open up the entrance. Ii data. I must go and improve the security settings…"

Ryuzaki got up and went to her fighting stance. If she had wanted to run away she had to attack them as there is no visible loophole or escape route to be seen. But three versus one isn't an ideal battle strategy and she was knocked out after a few blows. They removed any weapons they could find from her and placed her in a cell. She would most expected be knocked out for at least a day from anesthetic that was injected into her during the fight.

"We would need to wait for a while before interrogating her…"

- - - - -

'Ugh…where am I.'

Ryuzaki got up groggily. She woke up in a surprisingly clean cell. There wasn't much dirt inside. Maybe they do clean it once in a while…? She shook her head. It wasn't time to think of such trivial thoughts. What matters now was she had to get out of here fast before anything bad happens. The opening creaked open and a guy with entered.

"Hey how ya doing? Not so bad I hope." The guy asked with a friendly tone.

Who asks their captive how are they doing?! They are trying to suck up to her definitely! She slowly shifted into another position while debating on what to reply.

"I'm…just fine."

Ryuzaki felt relief as she managed not to let much fear or anxiety leaked into the sentence. She only hoped that it had not sounded too weak.

"You sure? You don't look that well though."

True enough, she still felt rather weak. It could have been of the lack of food. How long had she been sleeping in this position anyway? Her body ached in protest as she shifted again. Just then her stomach growled loudly. She blushed in embarrassment and had forgotten the situation she was in for the moment.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you need to eat since you have not eaten for two days already."

The person carelessly left the gate ajar in the rush to get food for her. It seems as though lady luck was shining on her. The guy came back soon after before she could leave. Maybe luck was just poking fun at her after all. What a plight.

"Oh man, I left the door opened. Good thing I came back fast…"His voice trailed off into inaudible mutterings that Ryuzaki can't catch.

She sighed. She shouldn't have wasted her time on hesitating. The guy hand the bowl of food to her. Even though it had tasted rather disgusting, Ryuzaki gulped it all down gratefully as she was famished. Soon after which she blacked out again.

- - - - -

"How is she doing, that girl."Oishi asked.

"Nothing much to worry about, Oishi-sempai!" Momoshiro answered.

"Fshh…why should be worried about our intruder? She shouldn't be treated too nicely lest she managed to escape."Kaidoh muttered.

"What's that mamushi? Scared the girl will defeat you? I'm not surprised."

"What did you say?!"

"Break it up or 45 run laps each."Tezuka walked into the room. "We can't be wasting our time and everyone must always be on your guard. We let it down once already and it proved to be a fatal mistake."

"Hai."

"Hey are we going to make her stay here, let her go or…silence her…"Kawamura asked.

"Saa…let's vote. I vote for her to stay."

Everyone looked at Fuji. He just continued smiling with his poker face.

"Fshh…threaten her to stay."

"Hoi hoi! Don't forget me. Stay nya!"

"Hmm…its best to silence her but it will be difficult to cover up her disappearance. I think stay is still a better option."

"I…suppose she should stay."

"Of course stay! She shouldn't be killed, poor girl."

"Echizen, Tezuka?"

"Mada mada, the majority already voted her to stay, there's nothing else to add on."

"O'chibi…you're so boring…"Eiji glomped on him. "Itai yo, sempai!"

- - - - -

Ryuzaki had gotten up again from her slumber. How many times had she lost consciousness? She felt her head spun when she got up and slumped back to the ground for support. She wasn't in the best form and surely no one would want to be in her place now. She had to admit though that the crisis as she would like to call it that she was currently facing wasn't as bad as she had anticipated. She had expected pest infested flooring, dirt covered walls and a pungent stench but it was the opposite. There is a possibility of a clean freak living among the group. A squeaky creak jotted her out from her ponderings.

"Yo Ryuzaki, looks like you aren't going to be executed just yet."

She looked at the guy puzzled as to why he had seemed so familiar. Was it because of his voice or his looks? Then she recalled him bring stale food to her. Well, at least it was food. Using the walls to prop up her weaken state, she finally got up successfully without crumbling back to her knees.

"Who are you? What are you going to do with me? What's going to happen? What…"questions began to flow out of her mouth like a raging river.

He looked at her. It looks like she wasn't ready to trust anyone yet and still harbored suspicions against them. Not that he was particular bother by it but it was going to make it slightly a bit more difficult to get her on their side or to even try getting information from her. Maybe they should take it slowly step by step.

"My name is Momoshiro Takeshi. You can call me Momo-chan if you like. Come on we gotta let you meet the rest of us."

Ryuzaki looked at him with distrust. Unfortunately, she couldn't defy him just yet. It was a risky move if she tried. She did not have enough energy to do it anyway. She nodded mutely at her captor and let herself be brought out. She would just have to be submissive of a while and try to gain their trust before striking when they are all caught in their unawares.

- - - - -

"This is Echizen Ryoma that one is Kawamura Takashi, the one typing is Inui Sadaharu, the hyper one is Kikumaru Eiji, that smiling one is Fuji Syusuke and our leader is Tezuka."

"What about me…fsh…you did that on purpose didn't you?!"

"No I didn't…"and another quarrel ensued.

Ryuzaki sweat dropped at the sight. Did they always fight like that? And why are they so comfortable in telling her who they were that easily? Aren't they being too careless?

"Maa, maa…we got a guest here. Shouldn't you both stop?"

They both froze when they heard the underlying threat hidden beneath the seemingly innocent sentence. Fuji remained smiling as usual. Tezuka took a glance at them. Inui was still at his computer, typing what he heard. Echizen lounged on the couch, playing with a dart. An unusual group of people it was…

"No fair nya. You know our names yet you didn't tell us yours."

Ryuzaki's mind turned blank. Why should she tell them? She tried to coming up with a fake name but the only name that popped out was Ryuzaki Sakuno. Her mouth replied automatically to the question.

"My…my name is…Ryu…Ryuzaki Sakuno."

"Ryuzaki Sakuno nya? Ryuzaki-chan it is!"

Ryuzaki looked at Eiji speechless. He doesn't look like one who would break the laws. He just looked like a hyperactive kid. Or an overly excited one. Yet from her past experiences told her that looks can be or is deceiving. He could be a murderer for all she knew. She sighed. Scanning the room she realized that it was a pretty big base for nine people. Stealing must have been their profession.

She sighed. Will she be forced to do their bidding?

* * *

Ah...after a long break...only one chapter. How pathetic can this get? Muhahahaha...I think it will be a few months before the next update. But still do review. Thanks. :3


	5. Chapter 4: Guilt Ridden

Chapter 4: Guilt Ridden

She looked at them. Nine pair of eyes stared back. She cringed. She inwardly shook her head. She wasn't going to give in! She is a strong confident young woman of the 2000's. There was no reason to be scared! Just faced them like how you should. With a new resolve she looked up and glared at them only to crumble at their piercing gaze. She lost.

"Right…just let me recall what the password was." she mumbled.

"Wai! Finally nya."

Ryuzaki sweat dropped. Finally? It was forced… Her fingers ran briefly above the keyboard and access was granted. Inui then took over the computer, taking in all the info he could get from the site eagerly. She felt something important gnawing uncomfortably in her heart, trying to tell her something important but forgot it soon after.

"Put her back into the cell."

And with that she found herself back into the same boring cell.

- - - - -

"Our target for the week – the Saint Maria from the Louvre Museum." Tezuka said.

"Ehhh? Why? The Saint Maria is one big chunk of rock nya…it's going to be heavy." Eiji whined. Who would want to carry a big stone while trying to escape?

"It is not made of rock; it is made of bronze."

"Inui-sempai, you are not helping. I don't want to be the one trying to carry that…thing while running."

"Ne Eiji, would you like to be able to buy every soft toy you see?"

"Fuji, what's that got to do with that thing?"

"Right now, that thing is worth about ten million."

That's when everyone's head swivelled to look at Inui. Except for Fuji and Tezuka. Echizen tried not to show too much of his shock. Ten million. That thingy cost ten million. Whoa. Kaidoh recovered first, following by the rest of the ones who were stunned.

"THAT THINGY COST TEN MILLION?! HOW CAN A SHITTY PIECE OF ROTTING BRONZE COST TEN MILLION?"

"And don't forget the price for that 'thingy' is still increasing."

If they weren't afraid of dropping their eyes, it would have been on the floor. Only then they began to compose themselves. Eiji started muttering about how he should go about bribing people into buying his unwanted bronze materials as 'art pieces'. Momoshiro agreed with him. The idea was just ludicrous.

"Hey, who's going to take care of our captive when we leave to steal the item?"

Silence filled the room. They looked at each other.

_Coloured sticks? _

"Maa, if you want I will stay." Fuji smiled. The rest sighed. What was their tensai up to once again?

"Fuji. Don't let your guard down."

He replied with another devious smile.

- - - - -

"Hmm….if only I got a pin."Ryuzaki muttered.

The brunette entered the small enclosed space and observed his captive. Her eyebrows furrowed in a tight knot and a light pout graced her lips. He grinned.

"Ano…Ryuzaki, right?" Fuji asked rather innocently.

"Ah!" She looked shocked. Since when did he enter? She hadn't even heard his footsteps!

His smile widened. It was of course, an expected reaction. "How are you? I hope you aren't starving."

Ryuzaki was taken aback by his kind demeanour. Her heart thudded dangerously in her chest making her fidget uncomfortably. There was an ominous aura surrounding him that she could not place her finger on. She hesitated slightly before deciding to reply. "I'm…fine…"

- - - - -

There was it.

The prized statue proudly and all so magnificently in the centre of the hall. It was guarded by many security cameras and trip beams. One wrong step could have a severe consequence.

"Inui, cameras down."

Numerous tapping sounds and a satisfy click told them the security had been breached and lock down. The main power is cut off. The group swiftly made it through the many traps and encircled the statue. Oishi and Eiji secured the bronze with the metal coiled rope.

"Yosh, now to get out."

Echizen leaped onto one of the low lying beams and scouted the room. There it was. The grilled window. With a few jumps he landed under in front of it. He took out a metal cutter and started slicing the grills.

"You got a minute left."

Kawamura threw the latter end off the rope to Echizen. Echizen caught it and attached it to the edge of the hole. Momoshiro and Kaidoh climbed up and into the hole which leads to the roof off 

the pyramid-shaped building and started reeling in the statue up. Oishi and Eiji climbed out of the tiny hole and helped Oishi and Eiji. Kawamura followed

"15 seconds."

Echizen threw the timed bomb and got out of the building through the hole as well. A beautifully crafted hovercraft propelled above them.

"10 seconds left."

They attached the ropes carrying the statue to the hooks on the ship.

"5 seconds."

Everyone boarded the said ship.

"4."

The hovercraft lifted.

"3"

And sped off.

"2"

A smirk, a smile and a chorus of cheers.

"1"

The bomb blasted.

The glass, not being able to resist the explosion within shattered. Glass pieces flew and scattered through the air reflecting the lights that are once again switched on, illuminating the dark night. For once, Paris was definitely not for lovers. Especially tonight.

- - - - -

"Maa, I'm not that scary am I?"Fuji said taking another step forward towards the petite sized girl.

She avoided answering by pretending she was obsessed with the loose string that came out of her shirt. He strained his smile and lifted her chin with pale index and middle finger forcing her to look at him. Ryuzaki blushed at the gesture. What was she doing?! Blushing at the presence of an enemy equals to showing weakness. Well, sort of. Was she trying to ask for a quick death?

Fuji removed his hand and grin could only widen at such a display of innocence. Sweet girl she was. Who would have thought at the first glance that she is a bounty hunter? It was really quite astonishing and unbelievable. Ryuzaki looked down to face the floor, focusing her hardened gaze from him to it. He moved out of the cage nonchalantly.

"Interesting…"

He spared another glance at the prisoner.

"You know, I wouldn't be thinking about that when I just betrayed my friends."

Ryuzaki's head snapped up to look at him startled. The realisation had hit on her fully.

"Or rather…"His voice tailed off. "Ex-comrades."

- - - - -

"Nya Fujiko! We got it!"

Eiji jumped up and glomped his friend. Fuji nearly toppled from the blow.

"Che. It was all rather easily."

"Echizen, you are really stuck up you know."

"Mada mada dane."

Momoshiro had engaged into another headlock with his kouhai.

"Itai-yo!"

"Fuji, what did you to make our captive so…depressed…?" Tezuka commented shaking his head with disapproval. Everyone paused before resuming to their activities. Their tensai was after all, namely sadistic in his ways of having 'fun' with people.

- - - - -

It felt as if someone threw a bag of rock at her face. She sat there stunned. She is a traitor. And a willing one at that. She hugged her knees together. _What would Tomo-chan think of me now? _Clear glistening tears fell to the ground.

"Plop…plop…"

A dead weight hung at her heart, making her feel heavy. If only she could remove it. She knew Tomoka would not be willing forgive her for such and act, even though they were the best of friends. She could even hear it ringing in her ears now; what she would say, the frustrated with a hint of remorse in her tone of voice. The furious eyes that showed she wanted to believe in her but couldn't. The tears of betrayal…she couldn't force herself to imagine anymore.

"_I had believed in you Sakuno! How…HOW COULD YOU!" _

For the first time, she felt utter loneliness tugging at her guilt-ridden heart.

For the first time, she didn't want to see Tomoka.

They once used to be the best of friends.

Now they were ex-comrades, or so they say.

Would they become enemies in the near future?

* * *

  
Oh wow. I'm getting really unattached to Prince of Tennis...I might actually discontinue this story soon enough. Anyway, enough lamenting and review! Muhahaha...erm...yea. Muhahaha.


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